WebProNews

Google has announced that it is acquiring Postini, an on demand communications e-mail security company.

Google will pay $625 million for Postini and the company will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Google. Postini's services include message security, archiving, encryption and policy enforcement. Postini's services can be used to protect a company's email, instant messaging and other Web based communications.

"With this transaction, we're reinforcing our commitment to delivering compelling hosted applications to businesses of all sizes. With the addition of Postini, our apps are not just simple and appealing to users -- they can also streamline the complex information security mandates within these organizations," said Eric Schmidt, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Google.

Postini provides on demand communications security and compliance solutions to 35,000 businesses and 10 million users globally. Google said the deal would allow it to offer businesses more hosted services like Google Apps, which includes Gmail, Calendar, Talk, Docs & Spreadsheets and Personal Start Page.

"Postini's founding vision is to bring to market technology solutions that address enterprise messaging problems in a different way. Our on-demand offering liberates businesses from the burdens associated with traditional on-premise solutions."

"We are proud of what we have done to achieve our vision on behalf of our customers, and combining Google and Postini is a powerful next step in this creative journey," said Scott Petry, Founder, Chief Technical Officer, and Executive Vice President of Product Development at Postini.